Chuck vs the Shoe Box
by RinkRatWriter
Summary: What happens when someone stumbles across Chuck's box of secrets? How will it impact the lives of those closest to him?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own Chuck, or his friends.

**Chapter 1**

Chuck shook his head as he watched Jeff and Lester stumble past the fountain in search of a cab. No matter how annoying those two yahoos were at work, he had to admit they were pretty funny...as long as you didn't have to take responsibility for them. And, if he was forced, he would have to admit that it was a pretty fun Thanksgiving; much more fun than last year's had been with Anna being jealous of Ellie, and him being an ass about the whole Sarah and Bryce situation.

"Don't get arrested," he called out to his departing coworkers.

With a chuckle, Chuck stepped back inside the apartment and closed the door. As he turned around he saw Morgan bouncing back into the living room carrying an old Converse shoe box.

"Whatcha got there, little buddy?" Chuck asked, sitting down on the couch and slipping an arm around Sarah as she sipped wine. As soon as he sat down she moved closer to him, causing a warm feeling to spread throughout his body. He knew he shouldn't care for her as much as he should; he knew Bryce had a point. If he let himself give in to his feelings for Sarah either he or worse, she, could get hurt when someone came too close to finding the Intersect. But damn it all, his heart just didn't want to listen to his head. And after watching Jill tonight, watching her move into position to try and kill Sarah, he just wanted to be close to the blonde spy.

"Hmmm?" Morgan raised an eyebrow in Chuck's direction. Shaking the box slightly he continued "What? This? This little thing? This is a little something I like to call the next beta of Halo Wars, my dear Charles. Or as I also like to call it, my second Thanksgiving miracle."

"Second huh?" Chuck leaned his head just a bit to the right hoping to catch the scent of Sarah's shampoo. "And I hate to tell you buddy, but that looks nothing like a game demo. Looks like an old shoe box..."

As soon as the words were out of Chuck's mouth he felt his heart speed up. An old shoe box. An old _Converse_ shoe box. Oh crap. As subtly as he could, Chuck tightened his arm around Sarah, hoping to get her attention. Hoping his voice wouldn't crack, Chuck closed his eyes for a moment and asked "Where did you get that?"

At the strained tone in Chuck's voice, Sarah glanced over at him with a question in her eyes. Seeing her glance when he opened his eyes, Chuck mouthed the word "Trouble" at her. She glanced quickly at Morgan as he moved towards the couch to sit beside Chuck and then back at Chuck. He nodded at the continued question in her eyes, at the same time as he tightened his hand on her arm to restrain her for the moment.

"Where did I get his?" Morgan repeated as he made himself comfortable on the couch. "You did well Chuck, you did real well. It wasn't in your locker at work, even though I saw the shipping box. And it wasn't on or in your desk. Nor was it in your closet or your underwear drawer. Speaking of which...silk boxers? You go Chuck! Anyway, it took me a while, but finally I thought to look under your bed. And lo, what did I find? Chuck's Box of Awesome Goodies."

"Oh crap," Chuck moaned. "Ummm, don't open that man."

"Why not? You said I could play betas if I had adult supervision. And I mean, come on man, I totally have that covered, what with Ellie and Awesome and you and Sarah."

"It's not that Morgan, it's just that it's not a game demo...it's..."

"My stuff," Sarah said quickly. "Just a few things I keep over here for when I spend the night."

"Really?" Morgan tried to purr. Sliding a finger under the lid he started to pry it up. "Interesting."

"Eeeewe. Don't be a pervert Morgan," Ellie said as she breezed by the couch, reaching out to grab the box out of Morgan's hands, only to have him resist.

"I'm not being a pervert...I just don't believe them. I _know_ Chuck thinks I'm irresponsible with game betas. And maybe I am, but still, I think he's holding out on me. I know that he got the new Halo Wars beta. Come on Chuck Solo, don't hold out on your Chewbacca. Daddy needs his fix," Morgan pled as he tugged on the box to keep a hold of it.

"Let...it...go...Morgan," Ellie hissed as she tugged back. "Sarah says it's her stuff, and I don't want you pawing through her things like you've done with mine in the past."

His eyes shooting back and forth between Ellie and Morgan, Chuck couldn't help but feel this wasn't going to end well.

"Guys, it's nothing embarrassing, just some toothpaste and deodorant," Sarah tried to get Ellie and Morgan to stop the tug of war.

"That's...not...what...it...feels...like," Morgan grunted as he gave the box one more firm tug, only to have it slip out of Ellie's hands, and then slide from his own hands to go sailing across the room and crash open as it hit the floor spilling papers. Not seeing a disc anywhere among the mess, Morgan lost interest. "Hmm. Guess it wasn't a beta."

Shooting up from the couch, Chuck and Sarah rushed over to clean up the mess and get it all back into the box. Hearing Ellie step over to lend a hand Chuck closed his eyes, knowing he had been too slow.

"Chuck," Ellie said slowly as she caught sight of no fewer than nine passport covers. "What's going on?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: My oh-so comprehensive disclaimer is in Chapter 1.

**Chapter 2**

"Chuck," Ellie repeated, her voice strained. "Once more, what's going on?"

"Uhhh...what do you mean?" Chuck tried to sound casual as he scooped passports back into the box.

"What do I mean?" Ellie's voice rose an octave at Chuck's attempt to shrug off the incident. "I mean what the hell is going on! You have fake passports in a shoe box under your bed. Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Actually Ellie," Sarah began, standing up and facing Ellie's crossed arms and stern expression.

"Sarah," Ellie cut Sarah off before she could get any further. "I love you like a sister, I do. But I asked my brother a question, and he's going to answer it."

Slipping the last of his cover documents into the box, Chuck carefully closed the lid and stood up. Putting a hand on Sarah's shoulder he could feel just how tense she was now that the situation they both feared was upon them. "It's okay Sarah. I got this."

"Chuck," Sarah said, her voice holding a warning tone. "You know..."

"I _do_ know, Sarah. Trust me. Maybe you might want to go outside and stop the storm that's coming."

"Chuck," Sarah repeated, this time with a hint of steel in her voice. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The storm. You know...the _storm_. It needs to be stopped, before it comes inside," Chuck turned Sarah slightly so through the window she could see John Casey returning to the Bartowski apartment, his face screwed up in an angry expression. "It's my mess, I'll clean it up."

"You can't tell them," Sarah hissed as she turned to move towards the door. "They aren't cleared."

"Trust me," Chuck repeated, his eyes showing a combination of fear, pain, and mostly determination.

"Babe?" Devon asked as he stepped into the living room, a dish towel tossed over one shoulder. "What's going on?"

"That's what I want to know. Now start talking Chuck."

"Uhh..." Chuck stalled, looking at where Morgan was now flipping through channels on the sofa. "Morgan, buddy. Thanks for coming for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow at work."

"Is it that time already?" Morgan sighed as he shut off the TV, oblivious to the tension that was now thick in the air.

"It's that time," Chuck assured him. "Pedal safe man."

"Okay, I'll just grab my leftovers and leave through the Morgan Door," Morgan wandered into the kitchen to pick up a couple containers of food and then continued down the hall to Chuck's room.

Grabbing Chuck's elbow, Ellie pulled him back to the sofa and shoved him down and then turned to stand in front of him with her arms crossed. "Start. Talking. Are you in trouble Chuck?"

"Trouble? Me?" Chuck laughed somewhat nervously. "You know me, sis. Never been in trouble a day in my life."

"Right. Then explain the passports. Are they fakes?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?" Chuck smiled up at his sister, trying to look innocent. At Ellie's continued stare he shrugged and sighed. "Didn't think so. Seriously though, they aren't fake, I promise."

"Then explain them," Ellie prompted, changing her stance from stern to pleading. "Explain it to me Chuck. No more lies."

"It's..." Chuck started only to be interrupted by Ellie.

"Let me guess, complicated. You've been saying that a lot."

"You have, bro," Devon added, trying to look understanding and apologetic at the same time. "A lot. Ever since Sarah."

"Is it Sarah, Chuck?" Ellie asked, sitting down beside her brother. "Did Sarah get you involved in something?"

Chuck couldn't help it. He started to chuckle. Shaking his head, he put a hand over Ellie's hands in her lap. "It's not Sarah, Ells. She hasn't gotten me 'involved in something'. The passports aren't fake, they aren't illegal. Just trust me on this, okay?"

"No Chuck," Ellie shook her head, pulling her hands out from under Chuck's larger hand. "Uh uh. Not this time. For the last year or more you've been acting strange. At first, I ignored it. You were going out again, you were having fun. You were _smiling_! I had my brother back for the first time in five years. And then you started lying to me. And to Devon, and even Morgan. But I can't ignore it anymore Chuck. Not after this," Ellie poked a finger at the box sitting next to Chuck. "Jeff and Lester told me they saw you a couple weeks ago in a Ferrari! A Ferrari, Chuck?"

"Premium ride choice, dude," Devon gave Chuck a little punch in the arm.

"Devon, please. You're not helping."

"Sorry babe."

"To be completely accurate, they didn't see me _in_ a Ferrari," Chuck began, trying to think of a way out of the situation that was rapidly spiraling out of control. With a sigh, he concluded that there really wasn't any graceful way out of the situation. And damn it, didn't his sister and her fiancé deserve to know? But he couldn't endanger them! Sarah and Casey were right, if they knew they'd be in even more danger.

Not really sure what he was going to say, Chuck started to open his mouth just as the front door banged open accompanied by Sarah's shouted "Casey!"

Casey strode into the room with a thunderous expression, his cell phone at his ear. "Casey, NOT secure. General, we have a situation."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The disclaimer hasn't moved. And thanks for the reviews all, I'm glad it's being enjoyed.

A/N2: Oh yeah...this is all un-beta'd. All mistakes are my own. I've even named them.

**Chapter 3**

"I repeat, we have a situation. I'm reporting a Code Omega-6. What are my instructions regarding the asset?" Casey barked into the phone.

As Casey listened to the response to his question, Sarah pushed her way past him into the apartment. "Damn it Casey," she snapped. "What are you trying to do?"

"My job," Casey snapped back without taking his attention from the phone. "Like you should have been doing."

"What's going on?" Ellie asked, confusion warring with anger in her eyes. Devon moved to stand next to her, warily eying Sarah and John.

"Ellie, Devon, please, just stay calm. We'll explain everything," Sarah turned her attention to Chuck's sister and her fiancé. "Chuck, did you say anything?"

"No, I didn't get a chance. Sarah, what's Code Omega-6?" Chuck asked, looking back and forth between his handlers.

"Roger that General. We'll await transport and then I'll contact you as soon as we're secure," Casey said into his phone. Snapping it shut he looked up at Chuck with disgust in his eyes. "It means your security has been compromised Bartowski."

"Casey, he didn't say anything. The situation was under control until you came charging in," Sarah shook her head angrily. "Just like you always do."

Picking up the box off the sofa, Casey flipped it open and looked inside. Shaking his head in disgust he snapped the lid closed with a grunt and shoved it towards Chuck. "A shoe box, Bartowski? Really? That was the best you could do? You knew that moron friend of yours likes to go through your stuff. Are you trying to get killed? It doesn't matter, Walker. He's compromised; they know enough to be dangerous now. We have to take them all in until we get instructions."

A shrill whistle stopped everyone in their tracks, Casey and Sarah's hands going to the small of their backs for a moment before they relaxed. "Hey. Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Ellie shouted when everyone was looking at her.

"Ellie, I know you don't want to hear it," Sarah started before Chuck stepped forward.

"It's complicated sis," he said with a sad little smile. "And I'm not just saying that. But the thing we need to do now..."

"The thing you need to do now Bartowski is shut up. And the rest of you need to do as we say," Casey gestured to Sarah and back to himself. "We aren't who you think we are. That's not important, but you need to know that we're the good guys."

As Casey was finishing his little speech his cell phone chirped to indicate he had an incoming text message. Flipping it open he glanced at the screen and then grunted. "Ride's here. Drop everything, let's go. Not you Bartowski. Bring your little 'Box of Awesome Goodies'. You should have been storing that stuff at Castle in the first place."

Reaching out, Casey put a hand on both Chuck's and Devon's shoulders and propelled them for the door as he gave Sarah a look and indicated Ellie with his eyes. Without waiting to see if she caught on, Casey stepped out in front of Devon and Chuck and drew his weapon, his eyes scanning the courtyard as he hurried towards a black SUV parked on the other side of the archway.

"Whoa," Devon said in shock at the sight of the gun. "What's going on Chuck?"

"It's complicated, Awesome," Chuck repeated with a sigh. "But I guess you've probably figured that out."

"Move it Bartowski. Move walking, less talking," Casey grunted as he reached the SUV and opened the door.

Waiting until Sarah and Ellie got to the SUV, Sarah's weapon out as she also scanned the courtyard and street, Chuck watched as his sister slid into the back seat next to Devon, her confusion and a growing fear evident on her face.

"Sarah, what's going to happen to them," Chuck asked as he put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"I don't know Chuck," Sarah replied honestly. "We'll take them to a secure location and then it's up to the General."

"Look, Sarah," Chuck began, a hint of steel in his voice. "Tell the General they can put me in a bunker. They can lock me away, I don't care. But nothing happens to Ellie and Awesome. They don't know anything yet, it can still be 'explained' to them. Leave them out of this."

"It's too late Chuck. I'm sorry," Sarah said, not trying to disguise the feeling in her words. "They both know that Casey and I aren't who we said we were. They both know that _you're_ not who you've said you were. Or at least they know you're not what they thought you were. We're all compromised now. It's too dangerous and you know it. This is your safety we're talking about; you and millions of others."

"They don't _know_," Chuck protested. "They suspect; it's not the same thing Sarah, and you know it. And besides, it's Ellie and Awesome! Who are they going to tell? They'd do anything to keep me safe."

Before Sarah could respond they were interrupted by a grunt. "Hey, lovebirds. If you're done, we have a little trip to make. Shut your trap and get in the car, Bartowski." Looking at Sarah as Chuck frowned and slipped into the car, Casey just rolled his eyes before taking the shotgun seat. Without looking at the nondescript man in the dark suit next to him he just grunted, "Drive."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N The action's coming up soon...this whole dealing with Ellie and Devon finding out is stretching out longer than I thought it would.

**Chapter 4**

As he removed the blindfolds over their eyes, Casey gestured Ellie and Devon towards a holding cell. "Please, Dr. Bartowski, Dr. Woodcomb."

"Oh it's please now, is it John?" Ellie groused as she moved into the cell, her head swiveling as she looked around the parts of the Castle she could see from the cell. "Chuck, what's going on?"

Shooting Casey a mild glare, Chuck pushed past the bigger man so he could stand on the just outside the closing door. "It'll be okay Ellie, I'll fix this."

"Dude," Devon said as he shot Casey his own glare. "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, what's going on here? Where are we?"

"You're in a secret..." Chuck started only to stop when Casey's hand clamped down on his shoulder, hard.

"Bartowski, if you finish that sentence I'm going to rip your tongue out and stuff it down your Nintendo boxers."

"Come on big guy, its Ellie and Devon. How many times do I have to say that?"

"Orders Bartowski."

"Chuck, Casey," Sarah's voice came over the PA. "Comms are up. The General is waiting."

"Let's go," Casey grunted as he whirled and stalked down the hall out of the detention area.

"Chuck," Ellie started, her eyes wide.

"It's okay sis, I'll fix it. Just let me talk to the General," Chuck said as he placed a hand against the glass of the cell door for a minute before following Casey out to the main room.

"They _don't_ know, not really," Sarah was saying to General Beckman as Chuck entered the room.

"Doesn't matter. They're smart, they know something's up," Casey grunted. "In my opinion General, we've been compromised. We should begin clean up immediately."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Chuck said as he moved into view of the webcam. "General, don't you think we're jumping the gun here a little? I've said it too many times today already, but I'll say it again, but just because it's you General. It's my sister and her fiancé. They aren't a risk. It's Ellie for god's sake. She raised me."

"I understand your point of view Mr. Barktowski. I do. However I have to agree with Major Casey. Your sister and her fiancé are both bright people and they know things are not what they appear to be. They'll dig and ask questions until they get answers. These actions will draw attention to you in a way we cannot accept."

"So give them the answers," Chuck said with exasperation heavy in his voice. "If they don't have any more questions they won't have any reason to dig and ask questions."

"General, ma'am. It is possible that by letting them in on Chuck's secret that they can help us work towards ensuring Chuck's safety," Sarah said quickly after a quick glance at Chuck's pained expression.

"Explain Agent Walker. I thought it was your opinion that keeping them in the dark was the safest course of action," General Beckman said crisply.

"It was ma'am. But that was then and this is now. As you say, they are bright people, and they know something is up. Even if we could explain away everything that happened today, even if we could explain away Chuck's cover documents, if anything was to happen to Chuck they would not believe any story we gave them. They would, as you say, dig and ask questions," Sarah said quickly.

"There's a solution for that too," Casey said in a low voice.

"What? Kill them?" Chuck shouted, his face suddenly transformed by shock and anger. "You want to kill my sister and her fiancé? We you'd best have a bullet in your gun for me too Casey because I won't let you do it. You'll have to shoot me first."

"That can be arranged Bartowski," Casey growled.

"Major! Mr. Bartowski! Calm down please," General Beckman snapped.

"General," Sarah said in a calm voice. "I agree with Chuck. We jumped the gun on this. If we'd been given an opportunity we could have come up with a plausible story. However, the cat is out of the bag so to speak. Perhaps we should look at this as an opportunity instead of a problem."

"What do you mean?" Chuck and General Beckman said at the same time. Chuck blushed and quickly looked at the ground in an attempt to deflect attention from himself.

"Ellie, I mean Dr. Bartowski, was already growing suspicious; it was only a matter of time before she started asking questions. Too much of what goes on can't be explained away by our cover stories. What would have happened if Dr. Bartowski saw the bruise that Chuck got when he got shot last year? What if some bystander had captured a video of Chuck on a phone camera at the biomed conference a couple weeks ago? Uploaded it to Youtube? None of us expected to have to maintain security over the Intersect as long as we have, none of us expected to have to maintain cover as long as we have. It's starting to show cracks. As we've all said, Chuck's sister and her fiancé are bright, intelligent people. I'm amazed they haven't started to pick away at those cracks. Why not bring them in to help us shore up those cracks? Besides, can it hurt to have two doctors, one of them a surgical resident, on hand if anything should happen? To any of us," Sarah shot a glare at Casey that stopped him before he could open his mouth.

"You have a valid argument Agent Walker, however it could also be said that your argument could be used to support a reason for Chuck to be brought into our custody full time," General Beckman said thoughtfully.

"It wouldn't work!" Chuck said excitedly. "I mean, as Sarah said General, Ellie and Devon would ask questions now if I were to disappear."

"We could 'disappear' them too," Casey grunted thoughtfully. "It's been done before."

Shaking his head, Chuck looked between Casey and the monitor containing the image of the General. "Sorry big guy, but that won't work either. Don't you think people would ask questions down at the hospital? At Buymore? Among Devon's biking and hiking buddies...hell his Frat Pack would ask questions and they aren't exactly anyone's idea of a brain trust."

"What are you suggesting Mr. Barktowski," General Beckman asked.

"I agree with Sarah," Chuck said quickly.

"There's a shock," Casey muttered.

"Bring them in on the secret. They can help protect me, and I won't have to lie to my sister anymore," Chuck said, shooting another glare at Casey. He closed his eyes for a moment and then seemed to stand taller. Opening his eyes he looked directly at General Beckman. "General, I know we've been working together better this last little while, but I think I'm going to have to insist. If you want my continued cooperation, Ellie and Devon are told what they need to know and then let go. We all seem to have forgotten that you need me. You. Need. Me."

General Beckman frowned as she looked from Chuck to Casey to Sarah and back to Chuck. "That is a dangerous stance to take Mr. Bartowski. Very dangerous. Very well, I've heard your arguments. Agent Walker, Mr. Barktowski, please give the Major and I a moment. He will let you know what my decision is."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

While Sarah checked to make sure the doors to the Orange Orange were still locked, Chuck hopped up on the counter and put his head in his hands. Without looking up he asked "What's going to happen Sarah? I can't lose Ellie...I can't let anything happen to her."

For a minute there wasn't a response to his question and then he heard her soft footfalls as she returned from the door. Before she said a word he felt the warmth of her hand on the back of his neck. "I don't know Chuck," Sarah said, emotion thick in her voice. "It's up to the General. We made our case and now we wait."

"But what if the General orders Casey to 'disappear' them? What then? I won't let it happen," Chuck said firmly, lifting his head out of his hands with his eyes flashing. "Sarah, I won't. I don't care what they say."

"I know Chuck," Sarah said softly in an almost whisper.

"And what's up with Casey? He hasn't acted like this since this whole thing started. What's got his shorts in a knot?"

Sarah moved her hand from Chuck's neck and gracefully slid up on the counter next to him. "You know Casey, Chuck. You know that he's not the robot you thought he was. And if he's acting this way, he's got a reason. Maybe he's scared...maybe he's tired. All three of us have been working round the clock without any time off for over a year now. Think of all the days you don't want to get out of bed, and then remember we all have them, Chuck."

"So he figures the best way to get some time off is to make us all go away?" Chuck demanded.

Leaning over to bump her shoulder against Chuck's, Sarah laughed softly. "No silly. Maybe he's just not thinking straight. If you weren't in his face all the time, maybe he'd have a minute to calm down and think straight."

"So this is my fault now?" Chuck asked incredulously. With a sigh he continued, his anger gone. "You're right...it is my fault. How could I let this happen? Casey's right...I was stupid to keep my documents under my bed."

"Yes, that was a little stupid, but it's not anyone's fault," Sarah said firmly. "Not yours, not John's and not Ellie's or Devon's. It just happened. Like I told the General, it was bound to happen sometime. You have to realize that the longer you keep up a cover, the greater the chances for mistakes, the greater the chances someone will pick up on the fact that you're spinning one lie after another. John knows that, and I would be lying if I said we both haven't worried this would happen. We worry about it everyday Chuck, it's our job."

"What am I going to do, Sarah?" Chuck sighed. "I don't want to bring Ellie and Devon into this life, all the lies, the danger. But I don't want to lose them either; I don't want them dead or moved into a bunker of their own. Unless maybe they were put into an adjoining bunker…that might be kind of fun. You could come visit, Ellie could order dinner from whatever cafeteria they use to feed us…do you think they'd let us cook, or would they just feed us with cafeteria food?"

"You're rambling, Chuck," Sarah said with a sad smile.

"I do that when I'm freaking out. I thought you knew that by now."

Reaching over, Sarah began to slowly rub her hand across Chuck's back comfortingly. When she didn't say anything Chuck looked over at her, an unspoken question in his eyes.

"I want to tell you it will be all alright, Chuck. I'm supposed to protect you, and I want to protect you from this too, but I can't," Sarah said with a sad look in her eye. "I respect you too much to lie about this. I can't tell you everything will be all okay, when we both don't know if it will be or not. But I will say this; the General is often hard, but she has to be. At the same time though, has she ever done anything without taking all sides into account?"

Before Chuck could respond they were interrupted by the door to the back of the store banging open. Casey leaned against the doorframe, his whole body tense and his face even more emotionless than normal. Chuck felt the bottom of his stomach drop down to his shoes when he saw the way Casey was standing there. Swallowing the sudden lump that was in his throat, Chuck hopped off the counter and then turned to give Sarah a hand down, even though he knew she didn't need it.

"Hey lovebirds," Casey growled. "The General has made her decision. Let's go."

Giving Sarah's hand a squeeze, Chuck looked her straight in the eye. "Thanks for being honest with me, Sarah."

Without waiting for her response, Chuck turned and followed Casey back down to Castle, unsure of what he would find when he got there.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: First off, I'd like to apologize for the lengthy delay in updating...I ended up going out of town to somewhere warm when temperatures started dropping, and unfortunately didn't get a chance to update before I took off. The second reason it took so long is this is turning into a tough chapter to write. I'm hoping to have another chapter up today or tomorrow. Also, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewing...your words are most appreciated.

**Chapter 6**

At the bottom of the stairs Casey stopped and whirled to face the two descending behind him. "Okay...the General seems to have lost her marbles. She agrees with you Walker; she says it might be better to let the sister and her boy-toy in on _some_ of the secret. None of the dirty details; just tell them that the geek works for the government doing top secret work. As far as Ellie can know, her brother is doing analysis and computer work. Make up something believable as to why he's still at that craphole he calls a job. You," Casey stabbed a finger into Chuck's chest, halting the growing look of excitement he was getting. "Come with me. We have some real work to do."

"Wait, why does Sarah get to be the one to tell Ellie and Awesome?" Chuck asked as he rubbed his chest. "And by the way, I'm right here."

"She won't spill all the beans," Casey growled. "Or she better not anyway. And what part of 'we have some real work to do' don't you understand? I need that expensive melon of yours to look over some intel Command just sent down the wire."

Before Chuck could say another word, Casey reached out and clamped a hand on the back of his neck to propel him towards the bank of computers in the main room.

As Casey and Chuck sat down at the computers, Casey growling something about what they were supposed to look over, Sarah turned towards the detention area. Before she entered the code to open the access door, Sarah paused, biting her lower lip in thought. She had no idea what she would say to Ellie.

With a sigh Sarah punched in the access code to the panel on the wall and waited for the glass door to fully open. She'd just have to do what she usually did and wing it. At least Ellie could be happy that her brother was doing something more important than just working at Buy More. Stepping into the hallway outside the holding cells, Sarah could see Ellie laying on the bench with her head in Devon's lap while he ran his hand through her hair gently, his eyes closed. The sight made her smile a little; she always admired the way the two of them could love each other without holding anything back, without hiding anything. She knew that was something that, no matter how much she wanted it, she would never have. Her job, her life wouldn't allow it. With another sigh she entered the code to open the cell.

"Devon," Sarah said softly, stepping into the cell and leaning against the wall.

At the sound of the door opening Devon opened his eyes and looked at Sarah with a stare bordering on hostile. "Sarah," he said in an even tone. "Are we going to find out what the hell is going on here? Because it is most definitely _not_ awesome."

"The General has authorized me to reveal certain things to you, part of which is why you are here, yes," Sarah said as Devon leaned down and whispered in Ellie's ear. As Ellie sleepily sat up, Sarah did something her training told her not to do. She sat down the floor, putting herself in a vulnerable position.

"You are both aware of the Official Secrets Act?" Sarah started. As both Devon and Ellie nodded Sarah schooled her face to be professional. "What I am about to reveal to you is covered under the OSA, and will not leave this facility. You will not discuss this with anyone, not even each other or Chuck, unless you are given clearance to do so. To do so will be considered an act of treason and will be dealt with as such. I'd tell you that it would really be best to forget everything I tell you today, but I know that won't happen. Now, I know you're going to have questions, lots of questions. I'll do the best I can to answer what I can, and Chuck will as well. You're going to have to ask them here before we leave though. Can you do that?"

At the couple's combined nods Sarah continued. "The first thing you need to know is that I work for the government. John and I both do, and so does Chuck."

"Chuck works for the government?" Ellie asked incredulously. "Since when? What part of the government?"

"As for since when, that's one of the things I can't tell you, but yes, your brother does work for the government. In fact he does very important work for the government. We have a number of operations in the LA area that Chuck provides analysis and technical support for." Even as she said the words, Sarah couldn't help but feel that the story was thin. There was no way they were going to believe it.

"Who's we?" Ellie asked, her voice tinged with fear. Devon reached down and clasped her hand in his own.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that Ellie. Please believe me when I say it's for your own protection; however I can tell you that John and I both work in the intelligence community.

"Like Homeland Security?" Ellie asked. "You keep mentioning a general."

"Something like that. It's not who we work for, but we work very closely with them. You need to know how important the work your brother does is. John and I have both been assigned to work with him and protect him. Believe me when I tell you," Sarah said, looking Ellie right in the eye. "Chuck is amazing. He's saved so many lives, and it tears him up that no one can ever know. Not even his big sister."

"Wait," Ellie said, tears in her eyes. "You said he provides analysis and tech support. How is that saving lives?"

"The analysis Chuck provides is based on patterns in data. He's amazing Ellie, the way he can see things that others can't. It's allowed us to thwart a number of threats all over the country," Sarah said, knowing she sounded a little silly repeating herself.

Sarah waited for Ellie's next question, looking between the older woman and her fiancé while the silence stretched out. As the moments slowly slid by, Sarah's apprehension grew.

"So if you're assigned to protect Chuck," Ellie said, and Sarah immediately knew where the other woman's thoughts were going. "Does that mean you aren't dating him?"


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Okay...ummm. Hi. Yeah...it's been a while...too long in fact...since I've updated. I haven't abandoned the story, but "real life" took a "real busy" turn with work and other happenings (some good, some just annoying) and I unfortunately haven't had time to work on Shoe Box as much as I wanted to. However, that is all at an end, and I'm going to be focusing on finishing this story. I am hoping to get at least two updates out a week...and this is number one for this week!_

**Chapter 7**

"Sarah?" Ellie prompted. "Does this mean you aren't dating my brother? Was it all an act?"

Sarah closed her eyes and turned Ellie's question over in her head. Was it all an act? Yes and no...as Chuck had said more than once there was obviously something under the cover. Something she fought against with every weapon in her arsenal, but somehow he kept coming back, and every time he pushed he pushed a little bit harder, a little bit further.

"Sarah?" Ellie was starting to sound concerned instead of angry.

"Was it all an act?" Sarah repeated Ellie's question as she opened her eyes and focused on the brunette again. "I don't know what to tell you Ellie, it's..."

"Sarah, so help me god, love you like a sister or not, I will hurt you if the next word out of your mouth is complicated. I was starting to hate that word even before today's fun filled revelations."

"But it _is_ complicated Ellie," Sarah shrugged and held up a hand to forestall Ellie's pending protest. "But to answer your question, yes and no."

"Yes and no?" Ellie echoed.

"Yes, it is an act, and no it's not an act. I can't really explain it Ellie, but I _do_ care for your brother. More than I probably should," Sarah sighed. "More than I definitely should."

"What do you mean 'more than you should'? What's wrong with my brother," Ellie voice had taken on the brittle edge it always did when she was defending Chuck.

"Nothing...nothing is wrong with him," Sarah said softly. "That's the problem Ellie. He's perfect...well maybe not perfect, but he's sweet, he's caring, he's smart, he's funny, he's brave...he's everything I never knew I wanted. And that's the problem. My job isn't to love him, it's to protect him. And I can't do that if I'm always..."

"Always what?" Devon asked after Sarah didn't continue for a few moments, startling both women who had obviously forgotten he was there.

Before Sarah could continue the sound of sneakers slapping against the floor tiles announced Chuck's arrival before he came swinging around the corner.

"Sarah! We've got a mission...and the general has sent the paperwork for Ellie and Devon's offer," Chuck gasped with a huge grin. Sarah couldn't tell if he was more excited about the mission or the paperwork.

Pushing off of the wall, Sarah brushed off her hands and gave the two doctors a small smile. "So, have you two ever thought about working for the government?"

"What are you talking about, Sarah," Devon asked.

"It's great Devon...in fact it's awesome," Chuck couldn't help smiling. "It's way better than I thought it would be. You're going to love it. I don't want to spoil the surprise...come on guys."

"Sometimes he's just like a little kid again," Ellie muttered as Chuck turned and ran back towards the operations center. "Don't think we're done Sarah. You and I need to have a real talk about this."

Sarah only nodded as she ushered the two doctors out of the holding cell and after Chuck.

***

"General, I know you're busy," Chuck was saying to a monitor showing General Beckman as the other three joined Chuck and Casey in the operations center. "I just wanted to thank you for the offer you put together for Ellie and Awesome. It is very generous, and to be honest more than I was hoping for."

"It is the standard offer for medical professionals Mr. Bartowski, with a few minor adjustments due to your team's unique circumstances," General Beckman said dismissively. "Ah, Doctors Woodcomb and Barktowski. Thank you for joining us."

"Ummm, you're welcome," Ellie said hesitantly.

"Before you on the table you will find two standard non-disclosure agreements used for government employees. You will both fill those out and sign them," General Beckman said as if this was the only course of action. "With the NDAs you will find contracts for an employment offer. It is time for you to follow in your brother's footsteps and serve your country."

"What kind of employment offer?" Devon asked as he stepped over and started flipping through one of the packages.

"You will be brought on as classified medical professionals. You will maintain your current positions at your hospital, however you are to be available to treat our personnel that require immediate medical aid. I have already taken the liberty of granting you a level 3 security clearance based on your most recent background checks..."

"Background checks? What background checks?" Chuck asked curiously.

"Everyone you talk to gets a background check Bartowski, you know that," Casey grunted. "Don't interrupt the General."

"As I was saying," General Beckman continued with a cool glance in Chuck's direction. "You will be granted level 3 clearance in case you are required to pass on information in the event an agent expires before a secondary agent can arrive on scene. We will also be expanding the Castle to include a fully functional medical bay. You will be granted access to Castle, and may be called upon to deal with any medical emergencies that Team Bartowski may have."

"Team Bartowski," Ellie mouthed at Sarah with a quirked eyebrow.

With a smile at the brunette doctor, Sarah focused her attention on the general. "When will the work crews begin, General?"

"You will be contacted tomorrow morning Agent Walker. Please ensure that after Doctors Woodcomb and Bartowski have signed their contracts they are input into the security system. Major Casey, Agent Walker, Mr. Bartowski, I believe you have a mission to prep for. That will be all."

"Thank you ma'am," Casey said crisply as the video feed closed. Looking over at where Ellie and Devon were filling out their paperwork, Casey snorted. "Great, two more monkeys in the zoo. I'll be in the armory."

Ignoring Casey, Chuck pulled out a chair and sat down next to Ellie. "So, you probably have a question or two?"

Signing her name on the last form with a flourish, Ellie turned a serious gaze on her little brother. "That doesn't even begin to cover it Chuck. You and I are going to have a serious talk in the very near future. But it sounds like you're going to be busy tonight, so that will have to wait."

Nodding Chuck looked over to where Devon was finishing up his paperwork. Devon looked up at Chuck and cocked his head to the side. "So you're a spy Chuck? That is so far beyond awesome!"

Chuck was about to answer when Sarah said "Chuck, I've got them both entered into the system. Can you take them upstairs to do the initial retinal scan?"

"Sure," Chuck smiled at Sarah and beckoned Devon and Ellie towards the stairs. "You guys are going to love this."

Chuck couldn't contain his excitement as he led Ellie and Devon up the stairs and stopped at the stainless steel door. Grabbing the handle he turned and looked at his sister and her fiancé. "Are you guys ready to have your world turned upside down?"

"What are you talking about Chuck?" Ellie asked.

"Bartowski's Rules of Spying Number Six...things are not always what they seem. Just remember that."

"Okay," Ellie said drawing out the word, obviously humouring Chuck's sense of the dramatic.

With a push, Chuck opened the door and led Ellie and Devon out into the freezer of the Orange Orange. For a moment they both looked around in confusion until Chuck led them out to the store proper.

"We were _beneath_ the Orange Orange?" Devon couldn't keep the wonder out of his voice. "That is so _awesome_!"


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Here's Chapter 8. I _may_ rework it in the future...I'm not too sure how I feel about it at the moment. I'm hoping to have 9 up in the next couple days, but as a warning, I am on a work trip this week, which may or may not involve long days (15 hours+)...I won't know until we get there tomorrow. That said, I do promise to have 9 and 10 up this week....hopefully both won't be on Saturday.

**Chapter 8**

Chuck wearily dragged his feet through the courtyard on the way to his apartment. "See you in the..." he started to mumble and then realized what time it was. "See you in a couple hours Casey."

His comment was met with the usual grunt as Casey slipped into his apartment and closed the door on Chuck. With a tired shrug, Chuck continued on his way, pausing before opening the door when he noticed that there was still a light on. 'This does not bode well,' he thought. A perfect end to an early morning of crawling around in air ducts with Casey screaming in his ear. With a sigh Chuck took a moment to mentally prepare himself for what he suspected lurked inside and then opened the door.

Stepping into the apartment Chuck dropped his bag next the door before he used his foot to push it closed and then leaned back against the wooden portal. Looking across the living room he gave a half smile to Ellie who was sitting at the table calmly sipping a cup of tea.

"And did Agent Casey and Agent Walker, I assume that's what they're called?" Ellie asked in a calm tone. "Did they survive this mysterious mission?"

Chuck had long ago learned to pick out the deceptive calm from the real calm when his sister was angry about something. "Yeah, we all lived. Wasn't even really all that exciting," Chuck said as he pushed off of the door and moved to the couch where he collapsed. "Just a really really long day. Oh and it's Major."

"Excuse me?" Ellie asked as she stood from the table and moved over to sit next to Chuck.

"Major Casey...he's NSA...he was an Air Force pilot," Chuck said, smiling slightly as he imagined Casey's reaction to hearing this on the surveillance feed. "And yes, Agent Walker is fine too. She's probably on her way back to her secret bat cave right now."

"And who does she work for?" Ellie asked in the same conversational tone she'd kept since Chuck came in. "The FBI?"

"CIA, but if you tell anyone she'll probably have to kill you," Chuck laughed weakly at his own attempt at humor.

"Oh," Ellie said simply as she blinked a couple times. "So Chuck, how was work?"

"Which job?" Chuck joked weakly. "Seriously El, I'm tired, I've had a really long day and I have to get up again in four hours to go back to the Buy More. I know you're angry, I know you have questions, but can we do the inquisition tonight instead?"

As Chuck stood up and moved towards his bedroom he heard Ellie say softly "I'm not angry Chuck. Disappointed, confused, yes. But not angry."

His sister's words stopped Chuck in his tracks. For over a year he had wished, over and over again, that he could tell Ellie something, _anything_, about his new life. And now that he had a chance to share even a little bit of that life with her he found that he couldn't find the words. "Oh Ell," Chuck said with a sigh.

Turning, Chuck moved back towards the table and sat across from Ellie, reached out and took her hand. And he waited.

"Chuck, you work for the government," Ellie started and then raised her hand when Chuck opened his mouth. With a nod he signalled for her to continue. "My little brother, works for the government. And since when do you describe a night of doing whatever you guys did as 'wasn't really all that exciting'. It wasn't that long ago that you found a night of killing orcs with Morgan as exciting. What's happened to you little brother?"

Chuck carefully weighed his words as he considered his answer. Telling Ellie about the Intersect was out, but maybe he could put her mind at ease…maybe he could show her how much he was really living up to his potential.

"You know what? Fine. You don't want to talk to me. You used to talk to me," Ellie said with a weary sigh at Chuck's lengthy silence. Rising she moved into the kitchen to clean her tea cup.

Standing up Chuck followed Ellie. Now that the moment had come, he didn't want to leave her completely in the dark any more. "Ellie, I can't tell you everything," Chuck said slowly. "It's for your own protection. It's funny really, but whenever I heard people say that in movies I always thought it was kinda, I don't know, hokey, but I have to tell you Ellie, that phrase has a whole new meaning to me now."

Reaching out, Ellie guided her brother back to the table where they both sat down once more. "Did Sarah get you into this?" Ellie asked simply.

"No," Chuck answered instantly. "No, Sarah had nothing to do with this, at first. Let's just say I have a special skill set that allows me to help people…skills the government feels they…skills I should use to help them. To protect people. You know me Ell, if it's not a fake gun on an Xbox, I wouldn't know what to do with it. Protecting people wasn't something I ever thought I could do. But I still get to help people…and it's really a good feeling. When I was first…recruited…they sent Sarah and Casey to…ahhh…work with me. They do all the heavy lifting…I'm just the…ahhh…computer guy."

"So what exactly do you do? Sarah said you're some kind of analyst?"

"Right…it's a lot of reading files, seeing if I can spot…ummm…patterns," Chuck said. "If I find anything Sarah and Casey go in and kick down doors. I mostly stay in the car…or the van. Or try to."

"So you're not in danger?" Ellie asked, concern written all over her face.

"Not so much," Chuck said as his mind flashed back to being dangled off a building by Mr. Colt. With an effort he kept his face neutral and shrugged. "Pretty boring really."

"Okay," Ellie said with a little smile. Leaning over she hugged Chuck and then stood up. "I'm going to bed."

"That's it?" Chuck asked in shock. "No Spanish Inquisition?"

"That's it," Ellie said simply. "Chuck, I don't need to know everything. Am I going to worry? Yes. But I'm proud of you…I always knew you had it in you to do something great. I didn't expect 'Government Agency Analyst' to be that great thing, but if you're happy, I'm happy. Which reminds me…if you're out doing these great things, why are you still at the Buy More?"

"I have no idea," Chuck answered stressing the word 'no'. "It's mostly for cover I suppose."

"Okay…I won't pry. But I guess that answers the question as to why you're still there if you've got your degree. And a few other questions I've had recently. I'm glad you could tell me this Chuck."

"So am I Ell. You have no idea how much I've wanted to talk to you about this."

"Good night, little brother."

"Night Ell," Chuck said with a little wave as he sat back in his chair. Taking a deep breath he let a smile grow on his face. Talking to Ellie had felt really good.

"Oh and Chuck?" Ellie called from the hallway.

"Yeah Ell?"

"The Inquisition doesn't work if you're expecting it."

The only thought that went through Chuck's head was 'oh crap!'


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Sorry about the lag in getting this posted. Between work trips, running half marathons and getting 'deathly' ill (or at least feeling like I should be dead), life hasn't been kind to my ability to write freely.

**A/N2:** Oh, and I keep forgetting to put it in, but a great big thank you to everyone who has read and those who have reviewed. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**Chapter 9**

Sarah gave the counter one last half-hearted swipe with a damp cloth before she looked out the window again. Ellie had been standing outside looking at the Orange Orange and then the Buy More, and then back to the Orange Orange for the last half hour. At first Sarah thought it would be best if Ellie came in on her own, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. Well, she knew this was coming one way or another as soon as Ellie found out about Chuck's real world. That thought caused Sarah to pause. Was this world Chuck's 'real' world? He called his "Buy More" life the 'real' world, but was it? Chuck was capable of so much more than he was doing. Of course the government forced him to stay at the Buy More as a cover, but she was sure that if they could come up with something plausible then she could get Beckman to authorize Chuck's change of cover.

With a mental shake of her head, Sarah pushed her way outside to talk to Ellie. It was time to face the lioness.

"Ellie," Sarah said softly. "What are you doing?"

"I...I'm not sure," Ellie said hesitantly. "There's a secret base right under our feet, and no one knows. It's like something out of one of Chuck's comics or movies...or video games. How did you guys build this place without anyone noticing?"

"Lots of practice...and Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"It won't remain a secret base if we keep talking about it in public," Sarah said in a stage whisper with a small smile. "Care to come in for some yogurt?"

"Ummm...sure."

Sarah opened the door and waited for the other woman to enter. As soon as she entered the shop though, Ellie spun around and faced Sarah, a determined look replacing the confused one she had been wearing outside. "Why?"

Gently guiding Ellie further into the store, Sarah turned and flipped the Open/Closed sign to 'closed' before answering. "There are a lot of answers to that question Ellie. Please don't think I'm being flippant but could you be a little more specific?"

"Specific. Okay, I can do that," Ellie said, her fists clenching and unclenching unconsciously at her side. "Why my brother?"

"That's still amazingly vague, but I'll take a stab at it," Sarah said softly, not knowing how her eyes unfocused as she thought about Chuck. "Chuck is special. Like I told you, he sees things that no one else can see, patterns where no one else can see patterns. This lets him provide us with information that can help us prevent bad things from happening."

"And that's all? He's good with patterns?" Ellie asked, her lack of conviction evident in her tone.

"God no," Sarah answered before her brain had a chance to filter her mouth. "He's amazing in so many more ways. The way he cares for people, the way he puts other people before himself, the way his humor lets him get through almost any situation..."

"Okay," Ellie said, drawing out the last syllable. "You're telling me why my brother is a great guy...which I knew a long time ago. I was asking about this super secret job he decided I didn't need to know about."

"That wasn't his decision Ellie. He really wanted to tell you about it, he needed to talk to you about it. And those qualities are the same things that make him great at his job Ellie. I told you, he saves lives. Every day, he saves lives. Ellie, I know you know how great your brother is, but do you realize how brave he is?"

"Sarah, I need to ask you something, and please don't lie or deflect. I need to know this," Ellie said in a rush as soon as she heard Sarah how brave Chuck was. "How exactly is Chuck brave? Is my brother in danger?"

While she maintained an outward calm, inside Sarah was swearing up a storm. How could she answer that? How could she be honest to Ellie? But if Ellie and Devon were going to be the medicos attached to the team, they would have to see Chuck when he came in after being thrown into another pool from the twenty second story of some hotel. Or see the bruises when he got shot again. 'Don't freak out,' Sarah chided herself mentally. "I won't lie to you Ellie, sometimes there is possible danger, but that's why John and I are here, and that's why we need people like you and Devon. And to be completely honest with you, your brother doesn't make it easy to protect him. He's got it in his thick head that he has to protect everyone around him."

"Including you and John," Ellie said with a perceptive nod. "That doesn't surprise me. This one time when he was twelve Morgan was being picked on by a bully two grades above them. I swear to god this kid was already shaving at fourteen. When it was just verbal, Morgan could shrug it off, but this one time the bully broke Morgan's arm. I have never seen Chuck so angry as that day when he came out of the emergency room where they were casting Morgan's arm. The next day he marched up to that bully and told him if he ever touched Morgan Grimes again the bully would have to deal with him. The bully got a good laugh out of that until Chuck nailed him in the 'produce section' with a Gameboy. Chuck stood over that kid with his hands on his hips and said, I swear to god, 'Are we clear or do I need to get the console next?' Of course the bully stood up and proceeded to beat on Chuck too and I ended up having to sit in the emergency room while they casted Chuck's arm. But the point is this...he may not be a very physically imposing one, but my brother is a protector. If he gives you his loyalty, and he used to give it a lot more freely before that whole getting stabbed in the back by Bryce and Jill thing, he gives it completely. And that means he will protect you, even if he is going to get hurt in the process. He's never seen it as something to think about. That's the only way I can understand him protecting those morons he works with from getting into trouble with Big Mike."

"But that's not his job Ellie," Sarah protested strongly. "That's my job. That's John's job. We protect him, not the other way around."

"He'll never buy into that Sarah, you should know that by now. Do you love my brother? Does he love you? Does he think of John as a friend? If any of those questions are answered with yes, you won't get my brother to back down. Ten times out of ten he'll step up if he thinks either of you are in danger."

"But we're the ones who are trained to handle danger, not him. His job is to stay in the van and provide technical support and see if he sees anything that matches the...intelligence he has access to," Sarah said as she started to pace. "Why won't he stay in the damn car? He's going to get killed trying to be stupidly heroic trying to save me or John when he's more important than we are."

Ellie just looked at the younger woman pacing in front of her. She'd come here with all kinds of questions, a list of demands...hell she came here looking to pick a fight with Sarah. But as she watched Sarah pace furiously she knew the answer to the most important question. Sure, Sarah's bosses might have been the ones to originally tell her that Chuck was to be protected, but that wasn't why Sarah was so frustrated that Chuck wouldn't 'stay in the damn car'. "Why's he so important?"

Sarah stopped and started cursing herself in her head again. Damn it, she'd gotten so wrapped up thinking about Chuck not staying in the car she might have said something she shouldn't have, and she honestly couldn't remember what it might have been. 'Good job Walker. Way to keep your head in the game!' "Because he's the...he's the one who sees the patterns."

"I'm sure there are other analysts who can do what Chuck does," Ellie said, surprised to hear herself utter that sentence. "But that doesn't explain why _you_ think Chuck is so important. Sarah, why is Chuck so important to you?"

"Because I don't think I could go on living if anything happened to him," Sarah said quietly, unable to stop the words from pouring out.

"Honey, do you think Chuck feels any differently?" Ellie asked, stepping up and placing a comforting hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "I don't know a lot...anything really...about spies, or analysts, or protection details or danger for that matter. But I know my brother, and when he gives his heart, he gives it all. And I hate to tell you Sarah, but my brother has given you his heart. Completely and utterly. Now, I came here looking for some answers, but I think maybe you and I need to talk about my brother and how you feel about him more than I need to find out about how you are really a spy and not just the sweet underachieving woman who fell for my brother. So just how did a spy fall in love with my little brother anyway?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Casey," Chuck hissed, peering out from behind a fridge in the appliance aisle. "Pssst...Casey."

"Excuse me ma'am," Casey said with a fake smile to the woman he was showing a Beastmaster to. "I just need to talk to my co-worker for a moment. Why don't you take a moment to check out all the features this beauty has?"

"What do you want moron," Casey said as he grabbed Chuck's arm and dragged him back towards the Nerd Herd desk.

"Ellie and Sarah are talking right now...what do you think they're talking about?" Chuck asked as he straightened up and smoothed his shirt down.

Rolling his eyes, Casey glared at Chuck. "Are you serious, Nancy? Jesus Bartowski, I thought you would have figured it out by now. I'm not your coffee clatch girlfriend. You want to go play paddy cake, go talk to Walker."

With a chuckle, Chuck reached out to pat Casey on the shoulder, hastily withdrawing his hand at the man's glare. "I'm kidding big guy. Seriously, I just wanted to let you know that I got a call for an emergency on site service call, and the idiot twins are missing in action again. I need to head downtown to take a look at a server farm."

"Keep your watch on," Casey grunted as he looked over his shoulder to make sure his single white female was still pining for the Beastmaster. "I'll let Walker know."

With a nod, Chuck snatched up the metal toolcase he'd already prepared. "Don't wait up for me!" he said with a smile and a jaunty wave to Casey, who just grunted before turning back to the woman he had been serving.

***

Thirty minutes later Chuck pulled up outside the office block address he had been given over the phone. Picking up his case from the passenger seat, Chuck jumped out of the Herder and wandered through the doors and to the security desk.

"Hi, someone called about a computer emergency?" Chuck asked brightly of the security guard who was sitting at the desk.

The guard just stared at Chuck for a few moments, causing Chuck to become a little nervous. He hoped this wasn't another prank call; last month Lester had sent him out on a bogus install that had him explaining to a private bank's security force why he was trying to walk into their vault with a pack of computer tools. Looking down at the work order he'd filled out he sought out the name of the person who'd called.

"Ummm...it's for Barnes...Mr. Barnes I guess...it was a guy I was talking to on the phone...or maybe a really manly woman, you know? Says it's for Tipping Point Financial...ringing any bells?"

The guard grunted in a way that really reminded Chuck of John Casey and simply said "Fourth floor," before punching a button to buzz Chuck through to the elevators.

"Right, thanks, uhmmm, Jacques," Chuck said as he read the guy's nametag. He couldn't help but think that the guy certainly didn't look like a Jacques.

Stepping into the waiting elevator Chuck pushed '4' and leaned back against the back wall, humming along to the Muzak playing over the speakers. Just before the doors closed he heard a voice call "Hold that elevator!" Reaching out his arm Chuck stopped the doors from closing and waited until the man who'd called out stepped onto the elevator.

Two men in dark suits soon entered the car and nodded silently to Chuck. Before he could nod back however, Chuck's senses were overrun by crashing images as both men triggered flashes. Trying not to drop his tool case Chuck reminded himself over and over again not to freak out. Not one but two agents suspected of being Fulcrum. As calmly as he could he reached down with his right hand and pressed the panic button the side of his watch over and over again. Hopefully Sarah and Casey got the message.

"You're going to TPF?" the taller of the two men asked in a heavily accented voice when he saw what floor Chuck had pressed.

"Yeah," Chuck answered softly. Holding up his case, he tried to speak in a more normal tone. "Computer emergency."

"Servers must be on the fritz again," the other man grunted softly. "In house guys haven't been able to figure it out."

"Uhhh...I guess so," Chuck nodded quickly, still repeating the refrain of 'Don't freak out!' in his head. "Not really sure."

Before anyone else could say anything Chuck's phone began to ring, playing 'Lady in Red'. Blushing furiously Chuck fumbled his phone before he pushed the talk button under Sarah's smiling face. "Hi...honey," he said quickly.

"Chuck, you triggered the panic alarm, is everything okay?" Sarah asked.

"No, no. I don't think I'll be back anytime soon," Chuck said nervously. "Looks like this is going to be a big job. I should probably pick up flowers, right?"

"Casey," Chuck heard Sarah say over the phone. "Chuck's in trouble, he's used the danger close and enemy contact phrases. Chuck, we've got your location on GPS, we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Right, that's good to hear," Chuck said, trying to ignore how clammy his hands felt. "I'll talk to you later."

Disconnecting the call Chuck slid the phone back into his pocket as the doors opened on the fourth floor. "Trouble at home," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Whatever," the taller man grunted as he and his partner stepped off the elevator and left down the hallway to the right.

Turning to the left, slightly in a daze, Chuck wondered if he should just get back in the elevator and get the hell out of there.

"You're from the Buymore?" a woman asked before he could answer his own question. Turning around Chuck saw a petite brunette woman about his own age wearing glasses and stylish business outfit with a skirt and a jacket.

Smiling nervously Chuck nodded his head. "That's right...you have a computer problem?"

"Thank god," the woman sighed. "I'm Elise, I'm one of the techs here. We're having some kind of glitch with our domain controller and no matter what we do we can't figure it out. We need to get our domain back up or my boss's boss will rip some heads off. You're going to be able to fix it, right?"

"Well I can certainly take a look at it," Chuck said with a nervous confidence, trying to ignore the 'rip some heads off' reference. "Did you do any Windows updates recently?"

"They did one last night, but we've rolled it back and it didn't help. Why the hell do they push those updates through so quickly anyway? More often than not they screw up something else in the process of fixing something small."

"I know, right?" Chuck said with a smile and a forced laugh. "I'm Chuck, take me to your computer."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"What did Chuck do?" Sarah mused. "What didn't he do? I think if I have to be honest, I would say that I first started falling for Chuck when I saw him with the ballerina."

"Ballerina?" Ellie asked with confusion written on her face.

"I haven't told you about the ballerina?" Sarah was honestly shocked. "I thought for sure I'd told you about it. It was the cutest, most noble thing I've _ever_ seen."

"No, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something about a ballerina," Ellie said with a curious tone.

"Oh," Sarah blushed slightly, thinking back to the first time she'd seen Chuck. "It was the first day I made contact with him..."

"Made 'contact' with him?" Ellie utilized air quotes.

"Well, I'd had your brother under surveillance for a couple days, trying to figure out if...well let's just say I was trying to determine if he was the guy we were looking for. I decided he was, and went in to meet him at the BuyMore. I disabled my phone to give me an excuse to talk to him, and had worn this cute little blouse and skirt combination. I'll be honest Ellie, I figured that a pretty girl talking to him would be more than Chuck could handle. I mean, from what I'd seen he was this shy, awkward computer guy, and everyone knows how they handle being spoken to by the opposite sex."

"Well, I will admit Chuck is awkward at the best of times, but he's never really been all that shy."

"As I found out when I walked up on him doing this insanely nerdy beatbox of 'Vicki Vale' from the Batman movie...it was sort of adorable in a harmless way. Apparently Morgan had pointed me out by using that line that the movie has 'Stop the presses...' and Chuck just ran with it."

"Ohhh Chuck," Ellie sighed, expressing how put upon her brother sometime made her feel without words.

"Well anyway," Sarah said with a chuckle. "There I was, after being introduced to Chuck and Morgan, who was apparently raised by circus freaks..."

"They didn't!" Ellie gasped.

"You've heard that one?"

"Oh god, they introduced themselves that way all through high school," Ellie put her head in her hands and started to shake it back and forth slowly. "And you still talked to them?"

"I thought it was funny, sort of," Sarah admitted. "So there I was flirting with Chuck, and Ellie, I'm not overly proud of it all the time, but remember I'm a trained flirt. I thought it would be nothing to get Chuck wrapped around my finger, but your brother hit me with the first of many surprises right there."

"What did he do?" Ellie asked, fear lacing her voice. "Oh god, did he and Morgan do something stupid?"

"No, no. Far from it. This distraught father came rushing over while Chuck was trying to flirt with me, and the dad was all panicy because he thought he'd taped his daughter's ballet recital with his digital camera. Except there was no tape in the camera..."

"Oh no..." Ellie shook her head. She'd heard all her brother's stories about the various types of customers they got in.

"Yeah. So Chuck looks at me, looks at the dad and this cute little girl in a ballet outfit on the verge of tears and he excuses himself. Without a second look at me, he apologized and went over to help this idiotic dad. He tells Morgan to get the Wall set up, grabs a camera and finds the correct music in the CDs. In under five minutes your brother had everything set up for this girl to do an impromptu ballet recital in the middle of the Buymore."

"Oh Chuck," Ellie sighed fondly. "That is totally something Chuck would do."

"Yeah, it is," Sarah said with equal fondness. "Anyway, the little girl was all nervous and Chuck asked her why. She told him that she was usually put in the back because she was too tall. Chuck just smiled and told her that he knew a secret, that real ballerinas are tall. It was so adorable. Ellie, I'll be honest, I had to leave before Chuck finished. I knew if I didn't that it wouldn't be me wrapping him around my finger that day."

As Sarah started to smile her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. Fishing it out her blood ran cold when she saw the red screen with the word 'Alert' flashing in the middle. "Umm Ellie..." Sarah began as she turned to look across the parking lot. In just a couple seconds; there. John Casey came barreling out of the store and across the parking lot.

"Yeah Sarah?" Ellie asked, still smiling at the memory Sarah had shared.

"I need you to do something for me," Sarah said very seriously.

"What's that?"

"Don't freak out," Sarah said as she cleared the alert screen and speed dialed Chuck. "Chuck, you triggered the panic alarm, is everything okay?"

As Ellie's face took on a paniced cast, Casey pushed his way into the store and stopped when he saw Sarah on the phone.

"Casey," Sarah said in an even voice. "Chuck's in trouble, he's used the danger close and enemy contact phrases. Chuck, we've got your location on GPS, we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

After Chuck acknowledged her comment Sarah ended the call and pushed away from the table. "Sorry to cut this short Ellie, we have to go."

"Go? Chuck's in trouble? Then go!"

"I'll call you when I know more," Sarah promised as she and Casey ducked into the refrigerator. Sailing down the stairs Sarah hustled into the armoury and grabbed her tac vest and go bag. Pausing only a moment to slip into the tac vest and settle a sidearm into the holster, Sarah sighed when she saw Casey was just getting to the bottom of the stairs. "Let's go Major, the asset needs us."

"Keep your panties on Walker," Casey grunted as he grabbed his own tac vest and bag. "Trust the moron to find trouble on a service call."

Ten minutes later the two of them were flying through downtown traffic in Sarah's Porsche. Sighting a red light ahead Sarah tried to gauge how close the crossbound traffic would get as she blew through the light. Before she could come to a decision, her phone began to ring and when she glanced down she saw Chuck's bright grin on the screen. Stabbing the connect button Sarah said "Chuck?"

"Hey honey," Chuck said brightly over the handsfree. A little too brightly.

"What's the situation?"

"Oh, you know how it is. Big corporation gets in trouble and their IT department can't figure out the fix, so they call the Buymore."

"That's great Chuck," Sarah began.

"Get to the point moron," Casey grunted harshly.

"Oh things are looking better now," Chuck said. "I don't think I'm going to need those flowers after all. It's not as big of a job as I thought at first, but it is still troublesome."

Sarah looked over at Casey and raised an eyebrow.

"So you're clear?" Sarah asked with a chill in her voice. If Chuck overreacted and called them out for nothing, she and he would be having words.

"Oh no, not quite. I've got some work to do here still, but things are looking up. It's still _troublesome_ though. You know..._troublesome_."

"What does that mean moron?" Casey grunted irritably.

"You guys should probably just hang out, I'll be done soon."

Hitting the mute button on the handsfree set Sarah said "I think he wants us to take up position, but not come in."

Casey's only response was a sour grunt.

Hitting the mute button again Sarah called out, "Chuck? We'll take up position across the street from your location. If you get into trouble use the watch."

"Sounds good," Chuck sounded very relieved. "I'll talk to you soon."

Just before Sarah disconnected the call she heard another voice, a female voice, in the background. "Hey Chuck, are you just about done with this one? I found those pictures I was telling you about, you should come take a look at them! You're going to love them!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

With an oddly Casey-like grunt, Chuck wiped his damp hands across his pants. Looking around he couldn't help but be impressed with the rack of servers Fulcrum had in place. Bleeding edge was putting it lightly, and he didn't know why he wasn't giddy with excitement to be playing with such a set up. Oh wait, that's right. It was because he was in the middle of Fulcrum substation. And everyone in the building would probably love to crack open his skull and see what was inside, or put him to use taking over the government.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Chuck pulled himself up to the keyboard and opens the console program. Might as well figure out what the problem was before someone put a bullet in his brain. And that woman Elise would be back soon. She'd said something about showing him some pictures of a system she was building at home.

As he executed diagnostics commands and tracked the problem, Chuck's mind was turning. He _was_ in a Fulcrum substation. He _did _have access to their server rack. Maybe there was an opportunity here. He could write a little Perl script that would echo information from the server to a remote machine, maybe a secure NSA machine. With a slight nod, Chuck cracked his first real smile since he flashed on the two guys in the elevator. This might work. With a grin, Chuck opened a separate console and began to figure out what he'd need. Before he got too far though he swore he could hear a click in his brain. "Crap," Chuck muttered as he pulled out his phone. Sarah and Casey were on their way, and should probably be there soon. And the room he was in was probably bugged, so he had to be circumspect about how he talked to them. Hitting the #1 speed dial he waited while it rang.

As soon as he heard her voice he couldn't help but smile. "Hey honey," Chuck said brightly.

After her question he paused for a moment to think about how to answer. How would a computer guy with a smoking hot girlfriend reply? "Oh, you know how it is. Big corporation gets in trouble and their IT department can't figure out the fix, so they call the Buymore."

Hearing Casey grunt something in the background Chuck held back a smile. Looking at the first monitor he noticed that the first run of diagnostics were almost done running. "Oh things are looking better now. I don't think I'm going to need those flowers after all. It's not as big of a job as I thought at first, but it is still troublesome."

Hearing the chill in Sarah's voice Chuck bit back a sigh. Sometimes he wondered if she had any faith in him at all. "Oh no, not quite. I've got some work to do here still, but things are looking up. It's still troublesome though. You know..._troublesome._"

Casey's grunted query was enough for Chuck to roll his eyes. Sometimes the guy was so dense. "You guys should probably just hang out, I'll be done soon."

The dead air told Chuck that Sarah had muted the phone so Casey and her could have a quick confab. Casey probably wanted to blow the place up for fun anyway. When Sarah came back on and told him they would take up position across the street he breathed a sigh of relief. "Sounds good. I'll talk to you soon."

As Chuck was moving his finger to the disconnect button the door behind him banged open and Elise said with a smile in her voice "Hey Chuck, are you just about done with this one? I found those pictures I was telling you about; you should come take a look at them! You're going to love them!"

Barely masking a sigh, Chuck pushed the disconnect button and turned towards the woman with a forced smile in place. "That sounds great Elise! Just let me finish up with these diagnostics and then I should have an idea what's wrong here, and will be free to look at whatever you want me to."

With a nod and smile she backed out the door. "Sure thing, I'll be at my cubicle right over there," she said with a gesture to the left. "I can't wait to show you these."

With another forced smile, Chuck turned back to the server console and after looking over his shoulder continued his coding. He stopped typing for a moment when an odd thought struck him. A year ago, hell six months ago, he would have been falling all over himself if someone like Elise had shown him the slightest amount of attention. She was pretty, seemed funny and smart, and obviously liked computers as much as him. But now he couldn't wait to get rid of her. "Guess she just doesn't measure up to Sarah," Chuck muttered to himself as he started typing again.

Ten minutes later Chuck had the basics of a script in place that would copy the backup files and send them out over the internet to a specified address, as well as open up a rarely used port on a tight schedule so he could get back into the system remotely. It wasn't pretty, but he was sure it would work. A couple of the routines he'd coded in were actually very elegant, and he was quite proud of them. Saving the script file he closed out the console window and turned towards the diagnostics window just as the door banged open.

"Sorry Elise, I'll be finished here in just a second..." Chuck began without looking over his shoulder.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" a bear growled as Chuck heard the slide of a handgun being pulled back.

"Whaaaa?" Chuck turned around to look at the bear that turned out to be a burly man with a high and tight haircut. He felt his eyes flutter as he flashed on the file of one Maxwell Stone, ex-marine assumed to be KIA in Iraq.

"Mr. Stone, Mr. Stone," Elise said as she rushed up to the door. "This is the technician from the Buymore Nerd Herd. We had to call them in to take a look at the server when no one here could get it up and running."

What felt like an age passed in a tense moment. With a grunt the imposing Mr. Stone slid the weapon in his hand back into a shoulder holster under his suit coat. "Finish up here quickly and get him the hell out of here. You know what's going on today."

As the large man backed out of the room and disappeared, Chuck let out a breath he had been holding since he started flashing. "Whoa."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Mr. Stone is the head of security, and he's a hard ass. Ummm...sorry about the whole gun thing...it took me a while to get used to them as well."

Blinking Chuck looked at Elise oddly until he realized she thought he'd been freaking out about the gun. "Oh, yeah, that's alright. Not sure how anyone could get used to those things. Look, I'm almost done here. Why don't I just reboot the servers and then come take a look at those pictures and get out of here before the grizzly bear decides to eat me?"

"Sure," Elise said with a little laugh. "That sounds great. Oh, so what was the problem?"

"Your RAID array had a corrupted volume that was being run as a master. It was slowly propagating through the rest of the array, causing all kinds of problems. Simple fix really, just, ahh, time consuming. I'm surprised no one here caught it."

"So tell me Chuck," Elise said as she stepped right up to where Chuck was seated. "What do you do when you're not saving computers?"


End file.
